Asbestos 101

By Emma Peterson.

Learn how asbestos acts in your home and what you can do to test for its presence.

With such a competitive housing market, many people who are looking to buy a home are often looking into older properties that might need a bit of TLC. Not only do these properties typically come with slightly lower price tags, but renovations allow new homeowners some creative freedom in building their dream home. But there are always downsides and, besides the time and labor that must be put into updating these homes, hazards like asbestos are top on the list. In this episode of the AskARoofer Podcast, John Kenney from Cotney Consulting Group stopped by to talk about how homes built before the 1980s have potential exposure to asbestos and the basics of what homeowners need to know.

For a bit of background, asbestos is a natural mineral found in the ground through mining. John explained, “Asbestos originally dates back to its earliest uses from Egyptians and Romans, and they actually, believe it or not, used it in clothing for fire protection and they also used it in the doilies that went underneath the candles and the first fires to help prevent it from spreading.” In the more modern era, asbestos was used for reinforcement (it keeps things from splitting and opening up) and for its class A fire rating.  

Because of these benefits and lack of knowledge about the health concerns of asbestos, it was used in many homes built prior to the 1980s. John shared a bit of where this might have been used, saying, “Let's start with the roof. There was a product called a pure asbestos roof tile. This resembles a slate look but is kind of octagonal with a dull sheen unless it's been painted. Sometimes you actually see the asbestos fibers in there. So if you have that type of roof, which there's still many of them on in existence today because they were a very long-lasting roof, that's pure asbestos.” Asbestos was also mixed with asphalt for shingles, but John pointed out, “Chances are, as a homeowner, you're not going to find an asphalt shingle roof with asbestos in it on your home only because of the age. Even though it was possible they used it up to the '80s, that's still 40-plus years ago, so the roof may have been torn off.”

But, even if you have an older home, do not panic. Asbestos only becomes dangerous when it is released into the environment and there are two types of asbestos, friable and non-friable. John explained the difference, saying, “Friable means it can get airborne. Non-friable means that the only way it could get airborne is if you broke it up, cut it or crushed it. Otherwise it’s effectively locked away.” Many of the ways asbestos was used (floor tiles, siding products and roofing products) are all non-friable. The one major concern is if your pipe wrapping contains asbestos, as that is the most common example of friable asbestos.

This might feel overwhelming or stressful, but there are many ways to test for asbestos! John shared, “Most of your home inspection agencies have avenues to get asbestos testing done. So if you're buying a home, you normally would get a home inspection report and they will usually, at that stage, put up the red flag and say, ‘Hey, you may have it in your roof.’” From there it is up to you to get further testing done through another organization (usually an environmental engineering firm). John explained that process briefly, sharing, “Those firms come out and do a cutout or a test and then take it back to the lab.” From there, you can know for sure whether asbestos is present.

Read the transcript or Listen to the full conversation to learn more about asbestos testing in the housing industry.